Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup

As I get older I am thinking more and more about the meals my mother used to make.  When I was young my parents scraped by more often than not with whatever they could get to feed their family.  Most everyone did in the Maxwell Street, and later Pilsen neighborhoods of 1960's Chicago.  There were many days in which we did without meat on the table.

Nowadays meatless meals are seen as good choices in cutting down or eliminating our intake of red and white meat, but back then it was sometimes a necessity not of choice.  When our family had one of those thin weeks (usually in the winter, before or after the heating bill was due), my mom would pick up garden vegetables at the store, which were cheap.  We didn't grow much except radishes in our back yard, because our dogs would usually ruin the plants.  One of her go to's was vegetable soup, some times with barley and other times with shells, macaroni or whatever pasta she had on hand. 

I have had a taste for this dish recently and came up with this recipe, which didn't quite match my memories of her soup, but came awfully darn close.  She made her own stocks to begin with; for vegetable stock she brought rough chopped onion, carrots and celery to a boil and then allowed them to reduce.  This stock was seasoned with spices she always kept around the house; salt, peppercorns, rosemary and thyme.  For this recipe, I opted for store-bought low sodium vegetable stock.  You could also use chicken stock, as she did if she had saved the bones from a previous meal.

Vegetable Soup (serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup medium chopped onion
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery (about two stalks)
3 cloves minced garlic
32 oz. low-sodium vegetable broth (1 carton)
1 can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
5-6 baby Yukon potatoes, peeled and medium diced
1/3 cup fresh parsley (or tsp dried parsley), chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 cup frozen or fresh green beans
1 cup frozen or fresh corn
salt and pepper to taste.
1 cup dried shells or other pasta
1 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the olive oil over a medium heat

2. add the onions, carrots and celery and saute for about 4 minutes, until the onions are clear, then drop in garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

3. Add in broth, tomatoes,  potatoes, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste.  You can add more dried herbs as you see fit at this time.

4. Bring to a boil and add the fresh or frozen green beans and corn.

5.  Bring this to a medium low heat and cover, allow to simmer for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. The last 10-12 minutes add 1 cup of dried pasta of your choice. 

6. Serve warm, topped by a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, with French bread.

A Perfect Ribeye Steak Dinner

Many people shy away from preparing grocery store steaks at home because the meat often ends up over done, dried out and without much flavor.  It doesn't have to be that way.  There is a way to prepare this cut right in your own kitchen with very satisfying results. 

The most common mistakes are trying to cook the meat right out of the refrigerator, over seasoning them and moving it around constantly.  It's best if you have a cast iron skillet for cooking on a stove top, but an oven safe non-stick or stainless steel skillet will work just fine.

Don't throw the meat on a skillet or right out of the fridge.  A cold steak may not cook evenly. Salt and pepper the meat and let it sit about twenty minutes.  The salt will draw moisture out of the meat and enable more even cooking.  Here's how I like to prepare my ribeye steak:

Ingredients

1-2 medium steaks, about one half to three quarter inch thick
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 pat of unsalted butter
sprig of fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Season steaks with salt and pepper to taste and let sit for twenty minutes.  In a cast iron skillet over medium high heat add the oil until it just approaches smoking point and place steaks in the skillet so that they are not touching.  Sear one side for four minutes without moving the steaks.  After four minutes the steaks will release easily from the pan. 

Flip steaks and put a pat of butter on each steak, as well as a whole sprig of rosemary.  Place the steak in the oven to finish, about 6-10 minutes, depending on how rare you prefer your steak.  I prefer medium well done, so 8 minutes works for me.  About halfway through, take a spoon and baste the rosemary infused melted butter in the pan over the meat.

At the end, remove the steaks from the oven and place on a cutting surface.  Let rest at least 6 minutes before cutting the meat.  I like to place ribeye strips over steamed or sauteed vegetables, or even brown rice, using the pan drippings to pour over the dish. The above photo I used a store bought vegetable medley that I steamed briefly and sauteed in a little butter in a side skillet, with a little salt and pepper seasoning.

Tucson Sunset on March 18, 2018

I was out for a walk on a pleasant evening in March, 2018 and spotted this beautiful sunset.  I ran back to my apartment and grabbed my camera, coming up with this shot.

Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona

With a little break from teaching over Fall Break, I decided to visit Tohono Chul Park, a desert botanical garden in Tucson, Arizona. The park is on 49 acres and offers classes, tours, plus dining in its bistro year round.

I took my camera but didn't plan specifically to shoot butterflies.  I was really out after blooming desert flowers.  However, the situation did present itself with desert bloom from a bush teeming with colorful butterflies skittering about nervously at my presence. I managed to capture a couple of these colorful insects going about their business. 

Red Bean Salad/Salsa

This recipe is very flexible; you can use it as a salsa to top a grilled meat, or you can enjoy it as a salad or side dish. Either way it is fat free, delicious and canbe made with short cuts to reduce prep time.

Ingredients (about 4 servings)

1/2 lb red kidney beans, cooked or 14 oz can, drained
2 cobs sweet corn, steamed, or  11 oz. can low sodium whole kernel corn, drained
1-2 jalapeno pepper, diced (for hotter levels, you can substitute Serrano peppers)
2 large plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 limes, juiced (about 2 tbsps)
Sprigs of cilantro, chopped
dash of salt to taste

Directions

If you are using canned beans and corn to cut prep time, drain the juice and rinse under cold water. I prepared my beans from dry to control salt, and prefer the fresher, sweeter taste of steamed corn off the cob, but either varieties are fine.

Dice all of the vegetables evenly and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the beans and corn and mix well. Next add the lime juice and cilantro, salting according to taste.  Place in a sealed container and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour so that the flavors have a chance to blend.

You can serve the dish by itself as a salad, with a few extra sprigs of cilantro for garnish, as a dip for chips, or as a topping for grilled meats.  A very versatile recipe indeed!

Easy Green Bean Salad

I love green bean casserole, but the heavy cream fat, salt and other added calories don't love me anymore! I was searching the internet and found a recipe at www.realsimple.com that I adjusted.  It wasn't bad, but right now in my fat detox phase I can't have the almonds that they call for, which gives the salad the extra crunch texture.  So I substituted a sprinkling of prepared French onions

Ingredients (serves 2)

1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
Cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Fried French onions (look for those prepared in vegetable oil and whole wheat flour.  You can also make these yourself by coating some onion rings in a little oil and flour, and then baking them until golden brown).
Dash salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot bring salted water to a boil and cook the green beans for 5-6 minutes.  If you want them a little less crunchy, cook for a little longer and test for desired texture..  Remove, drain and put them in an ice bath.

Mix the Dijon, vinegar, olive oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Drain the green beans and dry on a towel to remove excess water, then pour them into the bowl with the tomatoes and coat thoroughly with the dressing.

Lay out the green bean mixture evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the onions.  Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to wilt. Makes a great side dish or a light lunch!

Beautiful Maui: Island of Many Awe-Inspiring Sights

Waterfall on the Road to Hana

Seven Waterfalls Area

Kaaanapali Beach

Morning Walk Scene Kaanapali Beach

View from the Beach Spa at Hyatt Regency

Sunset at Kaanapali Beach

Maui Leeward Side

Ancient Village Ruins on a Volcanic Flow

Black Rocks Near Hana, Maui